Tianjin to relocate two chemical plants after devastating blasts

Tianjin will start a 29-billion-yuan relocation of two large chemical plants in 2016 following massive blasts of a chemical warehouse that killed more than 160 people in 2015, local sources has said.

Relocation of the Tianjin Chemical Plant and Tianjin Dagu Chemical Plant from a densely-populated area to the Nangang Industrial Zone in southern Tianjin will start this year, said Wang Junming, general manager of Nangang Industrial Zone Co. Ltd..

The two factories, established in the 1930s, are located in the Hangu and Tanggu districts of Tianjin.

"They have posed safety and environmental threats to the residential areas in the neighborhood," Wang told Xinhua on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Tianjin Municipal People's Congress, the local legislature, on Sunday.

Based on state low-interest loans and supportive funds provided by Tianjin's Binhai New Area, a total of 29 billion yuan (about 4.5 billion U.S. dollars) is expected to be raised for the relocation, according to Wang.

Last August, the Tianjin Port was rocked by massive blasts at a chemical warehouse, that claimed the lives of more than 160 people.

Following the blasts, Tianjin began moving chemical plants to the Nangang Industrial Zone, about 30 kilometers from the explosion site, and 10 kilometers from the nearest residential area.

No new chemical plants will be approved or built following the blasts, said Wang.

With a designed area of 200 square kilometers, Nangang Industrial Zone in Binhai New Area aims to become a world-class multi-functional zone featuring heavy chemical industrial base and port. Endi